1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for forming a center-filled confectionary rope. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for covering a viscous candy mass with a candy coating by wrapping a layer of candy around the viscous candy center in a helical fashion.
2. Background of the Invention
Confectionary products are available in a variety of flavors, configurations, sizes, textures, and combinations. In recent years, confectionary products having an outer layer of one flavor, color, or type in combination with an inner layer of a second flavor, color, or type of confection have gained popularity. For example, many companies market chewing gum which has been injected with a sweet liquid or a soft center portion which is heavily flavored. As one chews the gum, the flavor-rich interior is released thereby providing a burst of flavor.
The same concept has been used successfully with various types of candies. Hard candy exteriors are provided with liquid centers, soft candy centers, or hard candy centers of a second flavor. Additionally, those same types of candy centers have been used successfully in combination with an exterior in the form of a flavored gum, a hard candy, or a soft candy, such as caramel. Thus, a wide variety of combinations of confectionary products are available which have as their basic configuration a solid exterior portion with a second portion forming a center. Often this configuration takes the form of a rope of candy.
Confectionary products of this nature can be made by hand by forming a long, rectangularly shaped layer to be used as the exterior. The center is then placed within the rectangularly shaped exterior in a longitudinal direction. The rectangularly shaped exterior layer is then wrapped around the center to form a center-filled confectionary "rope". The rope may be cut into several small pieces to form individual candies, or it may be stretched and folded back on itself several times to form a layered structure.
Although making center-filled candies by hand, as described above, is a popular hobby, making candy by hand is an inadequate method of production when large quantities of candies are needed.
When candy is to be sold commercially, the market generally cannot easily absorb the high labor costs involved in making confectionary products by hand. As a result, candy makers have attempted to develop equipment to minimize the use of hand formation techniques in manufacturing center-filled confections. However, the manufacturing of center-filled confectionary products in a factory, using equipment which continuously manufactures such a product, gives rise to several problems not encountered under the controlled conditions available when making candy by hand.
When making candy by hand, one "batch" of candy passes through the various steps which make up the manufacturing process one step at a time. After one step is completed, the entire batch moves on to the next step. Thus, careful and continuous monitoring of the candy is possible at all times during the manufacturing process.
When making candy in a factory, it is generally preferred to utilize a continuous manufacturing process whereby the candy is made according to an assembly line procedure. Thus, monitoring of individual batches of candy is not possible. The method utilized in the production process must therefore reliably produce a product of consistent quality.
Manufacturing a center-filled candy presents problems when a continuous manufacturing process is used. Whereas manufacturing a confectionary product which comprises only one type of candy involves mixing the ingredients and cooking the candy to obtain the desired consistency before forming the candy into the desired shape, manufacturing a center-filled candy is more difficult.
When manufacturing a center-filled candy, two separate candies must be made independent of one another and then passed through a forming process whereby the candy is formed into a confectionary rope with an outside layer of one type of candy and a center of the second type of candy. After the confectionary rope has been formed, the candy is cut into individual pieces or passed through a separate molding or forming process to form the candy into the desired shape prior to packaging.
Extreme care must be taken when simultaneously dealing with more than one type of candy because if the temperature of the candy is not carefully controlled throughout the manufacturing process, the texture and hardness of the final confectionary product may be undesirably affected.
The type of center used in the confectionary rope may also give rise to manufacturing problems. If it is desired to employ a liquid center, the candy center may be "pumped" along the manufacturing process. The temperature of the liquid center thus may easily be monitored and controlled because it is constantly enclosed within a tube. Such a liquid center may be injected into the center of a second candy to form a center-filled confectionary product.
If the candy center to be employed is too viscous to be pumped, the methods described above are inadequate. Because of its viscosity, it may not be injected into the center of a confectionary product. It must, therefore, first be molded into a predetermined shape and then coated with a second candy. In many manufacturing facilities, this process is done by hand. It will be appreciated that the manual preparation of such a center-filled confectionary rope drastically increases the costs associated with production. Additionally, the time required for production is increased thereby rendering manual production methods inadequate for producing large quantities of candy.
Another disadvantage associated with the manual production of a center-filled confectionary rope is that much candy is wasted during the process. After the confectionary rope has been formed by hand, it is fed into a rope sizer which further refines the geometric configuration of the rope. Waste occurs because when the center-filled confectionary rope is made by hand, the ends of the rope typically do not contain an adequate amount of the candy center. Thus, the cross section of the ends of the rope is not consistent with a representative cross section taken from the middle of the confectionary rope. In order to ensure a consistent cross section in the confectionary rope and a corresponding consistency in quality in the final product, it is necessary to cut off both ends of the center-filled confectionary ropes made by hand before they are introduced to the rope sizer. Because the confectionary ropes made by hand are comparatively small in length, cutting off the ends of each of these ropes results in a substantial amount of waste or the incorporation of additional steps to recover the unused candy.
Additionally, it is difficult to control the temperature of the candy when making a confectionary rope by hand. The manual forming process occurs typically under conditions such that the candy is subject to an ambient air temperature of approximately 20 to 25.degree. C. The candy is therefore being cooled as it is being molded, thereby resulting in a constant change in various properties of the candy. The texture and hardness of the finished product often lacks the consistency desired by many candy manufacturers.
When making a center-filled candy, it may sometimes be desirable to employ an exterior coating or shell which comprises more than one type, color, or flavor of candy. Manufacturing a center-filled candy of this nature requires that at least three candies be monitored at once--the candy comprising the center and the two candies comprising the outer layer. Manufacturing such a product in a continuous manufacturing process obviously compounds the difficulties which are already present when manufacturing a center-filled candy, especially if it is desirable to employ a highly viscous candy in the center.
It will be appreciated, therefore, that what is needed in the art is an apparatus and process for forming a center-filled confectionary product having a center which is highly viscous during the forming process. It would be a further enhancement in the art if such an apparatus and process could be used to manufacture a center-filled confectionary product continuously, thereby enabling the process of the present invention to be used in combination with the equipment utilized in modern candy manufacturing facilities. It would also be an enhancement in the art if such an apparatus and process could produce such a center-filled confectionary product having a quality comparable or superior to the quality of similar confectionary products made by hand. It would be a further advancement in the art if such an apparatus and process could produce such a center-filled confectionary product more economically than those processes presently utilized by the prior art. It would be an additional enhancement in the art if such an apparatus and process could be employed to produce such a center-filled confectionary product while controlling candy temperatures, thereby preventing undesired alteration of the texture and hardness of the candy during the forming process. It would also be an advancement in the art if such an apparatus and process could be utilized to produce such a center-filled confectionary product having an exterior layer which comprises two separate candies.
Such an apparatus and process are disclosed and claimed herein.